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Description
St Catherines Fort

The fort was garrisoned by a small number of artillerymen who annually fired some of the guns. On firing days local householders were warned to open their windows.

The shells would go roaring out to sea splashing into the water. Sometimes the gunners would aim at Giltar Point. A report of 1884 remarked on the breaking of the magazine lamps by concussion when these guns were fired at practice.

The whole rock, composed of valuable limestone and bearing a fort built of thousands of pounds worth of dressed granite blocks, was offered for sale by the War Office.

The Tenby Corporation did not purchase it. For £500 the rock and building passed into private ownership in 1907.

The Windsor-Richards Familv

The Windsor-Richards family acquired the island. They
were a wealthy family who were extensively involved in
the South Wales lron and Coal Industry. They turned the
fort into a baronial summer residence, with the wood
block floor of the Main Hall adorned with the skins of
animals from Africa and Asia.

There were tapestries, glass cabinets filled with trophies, stags heads and antlers and large foreboding pictures ornately framed. A huge fireplace in the Main Hall threw off warmth. The principal rooms were furnished in period styles.

The family were actively involved in the social life of the
town and St Catherine's Island was often the location for
lavish parties. Celebrations were held after the Tenby
Hunts, with members being ferried across at high tide.

On their return from hunting trips abroad, local boatmen
would transfer the Windsor-Richards' luggage and
trophies across to the landing stage from where they were
conveyed up the cliff on winches by servants from above.

The family sold the fort in 1940.

Description
St Catherines Fort

The fort was garrisoned by a small number of artillerymen who annually fired some of the guns. On firing days local householders were warned to open their windows.

The shells would go roaring out to sea splashing into the water. Sometimes the gunners would aim at Giltar Point. A report of 1884 remarked on the breaking of the magazine lamps by concussion when these guns were fired at practice.

The whole rock, composed of valuable limestone and bearing a fort built of thousands of pounds worth of dressed granite blocks, was offered for sale by the War Office.

The Tenby Corporation did not purchase it. For £500 the rock and building passed into private ownership in 1907.

The Windsor-Richards Familv

The Windsor-Richards family acquired the island. They
were a wealthy family who were extensively involved in
the South Wales lron and Coal Industry. They turned the
fort into a baronial summer residence, with the wood
block floor of the Main Hall adorned with the skins of
animals from Africa and Asia.

There were tapestries, glass cabinets filled with trophies, stags heads and antlers and large foreboding pictures ornately framed. A huge fireplace in the Main Hall threw off warmth. The principal rooms were furnished in period styles.

The family were actively involved in the social life of the
town and St Catherine's Island was often the location for
lavish parties. Celebrations were held after the Tenby
Hunts, with members being ferried across at high tide.

On their return from hunting trips abroad, local boatmen
would transfer the Windsor-Richards' luggage and
trophies across to the landing stage from where they were
conveyed up the cliff on winches by servants from above.

The family sold the fort in 1940.